Heartbreak
by Crittab
Summary: Lorelai get sick. Luke and Rory have to cope with it, by enlisting the help of eachother, and Tristan. complete
1. Cancer

It was 1 15 in the afternoon in stars hollow. Through the hustle and bustle of every day life in stars hollow, something was amiss. The air was fresh the sky was blue, and everything was just as it always was, except for one thing, Lorelei Gilmore. Being the owner of the independence inn, Lorelei was seldom seen in the downtown of stars hollow except in the morning and night. But today Lorelei's jeep was driving through town and parked directly in front of the small diner owned by Luke Danes. Though the diner had been a diner for many years though the sign outside still read in large letters Williams hardware. As it was previously owned by Luke's father, who used it as a hardware store before passing on and leaving Luke to do with it as he wanted.  
  
Lorelei quickly exited her jeep and ran into Luke's diner.  
  
"Lorelei, what are you doing here"  
  
"I need to talk to you Luke, privately," Lorelei replied shakily.  
  
"Do you want some coffee Lorelei, im not going to be able to talk 'privately' for a few more hours."  
  
"No I don't want coffee, and you don't understand, this is an emergency, I need to tell someone and I cant tell Rory until I tell someone else, because its going to devastate her" Lorelei said her voice quavering even more now.  
  
Luke sensed the fear in her voice and decided to close up, and listen to what she had to say to him. After all, there had to really be something wrong if she was turning down coffee.  
  
"Okay every one, I have to close, please finish up quickly." Luke said, with a small hint of fear in his voice.  
  
After everyone cleared out Luke and Lorelei went to sit in a booth in the corner of the room.  
  
"What's wrong Lorelei" Luke asked, with obvious concern in his voice.  
  
Lorelei answer shakily  
  
"I went to the doctor today for." she stopped for a moment " for an x ray, because I was having chest pains, and I thought it was heartburn, but I wanted to be sure"  
  
"Did they throw in a free cat scan?" Luke teased, trying to lighten mood.  
  
"The doctor said he saw something weird on my lung Luke, so he called a specialist who agreed to see me as soon as I got there. And when I got to the specialist he took more tests and said I have a tumor." Lorelei said, with tears welling in her eyes.  
  
"Oh my god Lorelei, its not cancerous though is it, I mean your only 33 years old." Luke said with his voice cracking.  
  
"Luke, I have cancer," Lorelei said with a small tear escaping her eye, she quickly wiped it away.  
  
"Lorelei, you don't have to be strong here, if you need to cry you can, you don't have to protect me like you protect Rory".  
  
"You don't understand Luke, if I start crying, I don't think I could stop"  
  
"Lorelei, just cry, get it out, before you have to go home and tell Rory."  
  
At that point Lorelei let a few more tears flow over her face. She put her head on the table and began to sob.  
  
Luke walked over to the counter and brought back a napkin to dry her eyes with. He sat back down and took her hand.  
  
"Lorelei" said Luke a quite a while later. "You need to go talk to your daughter, I'll be right here if you need me.  
  
"Can you come with me?"  
  
"No Lorelei, you need to tell her yourself, I'll walk you home if you want though."  
  
"Okay, thank you Luke."  
  
At that point hey both stood up and left the diner. They soon arrived at Lorelei's house, Luke turned to her once they were on the doorstep.  
  
"I have to go now," he said putting his hands on her arms.  
  
"I.i know Luke, thank you"  
  
"Bye Lorelei"  
  
With that Luke walked off and Lorelei let herself into her house.  
  
LATER AT HOME  
  
"Mom, what are you doing home so early?" Rory asked meeting her mother at the door.  
  
"Rory can you go sit down in the living room, I need to talk to you."  
  
"Mom, you already gave me the sex talk I think I." Lorelei cut her off  
  
"This isn't about sex, can you please just sit down" Lorelei said, I little louder then she intended.  
  
Rory complied and sat down on the couch, Lorelei followed her and sat next to her.  
  
"Sweetie, umm, I went to the doctor today, you know that right?"  
  
"Yeah. you told me this morning, are you alright?" Rory asked with a hint of fear in her voice.  
  
" No honey, im not" she stopped for a moment regaining her composure "please promise me you wont cry."  
  
"I... ill try not to, what's going on."  
  
"I... I have an illness that isn't umm, its not treatable right now."  
  
"W. what illness, what is it mom?" Rory said, stumbling over her words.  
  
"Its umm, it cancer Rory, I have cancer." Lorelei answered. Rory's eyes filled with tears as she tried to comprehend what her mother had just told her. She let a tear stream down her face as she leaned over and put her head on her mothers shoulder.  
  
"Please don't die mom, I need you, you can't die, you can't have cancer, you're to young."  
  
"Sweetie it doesn't matter how old I am, people can have cancer at any age."  
  
"I. I know, but not you, people need you."  
  
"I know sweetie, and I need you to, now more than ever."  
  
"I know mom, ill try, I love you"  
  
" I love you to Rory." Lorelei said, as Rory stood up and went to her room.  
  
AT SCHOOL  
  
The next day Rory was at her locker at school in Chilton.  
  
"Hey Mary" said a voice from behind her  
  
"Tristan, leave me alone today, okay"  
  
"Jeez, someone's touchy today."  
  
"Not now Tristan"  
  
"What's wrong with you today Mary?" Tristan asked still mocking.  
  
"Its none of your business"  
  
"No seriously, I'm curious."  
  
"Its still none of your business Tristan."  
  
"Well, regardless of your mood today, I want you to go to a concert with me tonight."  
  
"Im busy"  
  
"Doing what"  
  
"That's none of your business either"  
  
"I got it, your moms making you do a boring mother daughter thing to bring you closer isn't she"  
  
"Leave me alone Tristan"  
  
"No, I totally understand, parents can be really boring, they all think we want them around, I think you and I could be really good together if your mother wasn't around."  
  
"Tristin, you are a selfish, conceded, rude, stupid jerk! How can you say such horrible things able the people who brought you into this world, you are such an idiot." Rory stopped abruptly.  
  
"Look, im sorry, maybe its just that you don't realize what you have until its gone"  
  
"Rory, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were such a parents activist."  
  
"No, it's not that Tristan, look I'm sorry I was rude, I, I'm having a bad day okay."  
  
"Is something wrong with your mother? You're supposed to be the sane one around here"  
  
"I'm sorry Tristan, it's just. okay you want to know why I cant go with you tonight? Its because I'm helping my mother." Rory started to cry.  
  
"Helping you mom do what, why are you crying, what's wrong Rory?"  
  
" I'm helping her shave her head Tristan, okay? She has cancer, she's shaving her head so her hair wont fall out when she gets chemo."  
  
"Oh my god Rory, I'm so sorry, I had no idea" Tristan stated, showing a hint of humanity in his eyes.  
  
"Tristin, can I just be alone for a little while, I just don't feel like talking to anyone right now."  
  
"Uh, yeah, do you want me to tell Mr. Medina you aren't coming to class?"  
  
"Yeah if you could talk to Mr. Medina, that would be great."  
  
"No problem, I really am sorry Rory. If there's anything I can do, all you have to do is ask." Tristan said.  
  
"I know, thank you Tristan."  
  
"Anytime. Hey, Rory, if you ever want to talk to anyone about it, you can give me a call," He said.  
  
"Thanks Tristan. I might take you up on that," Rory said.  
  
"I hope you do," He said as he walked away.  
  
AT HOME When Rory arrived home she ran upstairs to where her mother was waiting in the bathroom.  
  
"Are you ready for this mom?" she asked, a feeling was in her stomach like she had never felt before.  
  
"Im never going to be ready for this Rory, but I have to do it. Luke said he knows someone, who knows someone who can make wigs. So they're going to make my hair into a wig for me, so ill still be wearing my hair. I only need to hide under a hat for a few days so I guess im lucky."  
  
"Okay then, should we start?"  
  
"Uh yeah" Lorelei answered with uncertainty in her voice.  
  
"W don't have to do this you know. You can just let your hair fall out or." Rory began, but was cut off my Lorelei.  
  
"N, I want to get this over with. Just do it quickly."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Rory took a hand shaver and put Lorelei's hair in elastic and began to shave of her hair.  
  
"Ow, try not to scalp me."  
  
"Sorry" Rory said as she finished up. She took that hair in the elastic and handed it to Lorelei.  
  
"Well there it is, you are officially bald," Rory said, devastation filling her voice.  
  
"Well then, there's one more thing to check of to the proverbial to do list."  
  
"We should get this to Luke."  
  
"Yeah, lets go, I could use some coffee."  
  
AT LUKE'S DINER  
  
"Hey Luke" said Lorelei, somewhat overly perky.  
  
"Hey there, oh my god, you actually did it."  
  
"Yes I did, and I could really use a coffee, because my head is losing heat incredibly fast these days"  
  
"Yeah, mine to, even though I still have hair, my ears seem to be getting bigger after the dinking in my brain last year." Rory chimed in.  
  
"Right, do you care to explain to me what you just said?"  
  
"Id rather has a cup of coffee"  
  
"You got it." Said Luke taking the hair and walking back into the kitchen.  
  
AT THE INN  
  
Later that day Lorelei decided to go to the inn to check up on Sookie and Michel.  
  
"Hey there Sookie." Said Lorelei from under her hat.  
  
"Oh my god Lorelei, I have never seen you where a hat before, what's the deal." Sookie said, a little flustered.  
  
"Sookie, I cant believe I haven't told you yet, umm hang on, I'm going to tell you and Michel at the same time, because I'm really tired of explaining this. Michel can you come in here please."  
  
"This better be important." Said Michel in his strong French accent.  
  
"Okay here it goes. I have cancer." Lorelei said plainly. "And the hat is because Rory and I shaved my hair off, so it could be made into a wig for me, okay?"  
  
"Oh my god Lorelei, how could you not tell me this, I'm your best friend."  
  
"Its not that I didn't want to tell you Sookie, it's just that I had to tell Rory and Luke first."  
  
"You told Luke before me, why did you have to tell Luke before me?" Sookie said as she started to cry.  
  
"I needed him to know, I needed someone who wouldn't freak out as soon as I told them, and I needed to tell him because I knew he wouldn't start crying and stuff like you are now"  
  
"Im sorry Ms. Gilmore, I must return to the front desk," said Michel. A little discombobulated.  
  
"Listen Sookie, I didn't want to hurt you, there were just people who needed to know first and. oh my god, it's Friday, and I'm bald, and oh my god my parents don't know and there's dinner at their house tonight, oh god, I have to go, bye Sookie." Said Lorelei running out of the kitchen.  
  
AT HOME  
  
"Rory!" yelled Lorelei as she entered her house.  
  
"What, are you okay mom, your not feeling sick are you?"  
  
"My parents, they don't know, and we have to go eat there tonight, and I don't have hair, what am I going to do?"  
  
"I. I don't know, keep your hat on?"  
  
"Rory, you know Emily Gilmore well enough to know that I won't be able to keep my hat on past the foyer."  
  
"I don't know mom, your going to have to tell them I guess."  
  
"I can't tell them, are you crazy?"  
  
"Mom, you have to tell them"  
  
"Why? Why do I have to tell them?"  
  
"Because they have to know. We have to leave in half an hour, so you should go put on something nice and just. think of what you're going to say"  
  
"Okay, go put on something nice" she mumbled to herself as she walked slowly up the stairs. 


	2. Life

AT EMILY AND RICHARDS' Rory and Lorelei arrived at the Gilmore house an hour later. Lorelei and Rory stood on the doorstep for a few minutes before knocking, working up the courage to go inside. Just as Lorelei was about to knock Emily came to the door and opened it.  
  
"Uh, hi. mom" Lorelei said, giving Emily her million dollar smile.  
  
"Lorelei, Rory, come in, its cold."  
  
"Uh sure mom, how are you" Lorelei said, taking off her shoes and coat, as Rory did the same.  
  
As Rory and Lorelei began to walk into the living room Emily stopped Lorelei with her hand.  
  
'Lorelei, take off your hat please"  
  
"Uh, you know I kind of want to keep it on"  
  
"Lorelei, its inappropriate to have a hat on inside, so take it off please."  
  
"Okay, but please don't be shocked and don't ask any questions." Lorelei said, Emily just looked at her as she took off her hat.  
  
"oh my god Lorelei, your hair, what did you do"  
  
" I thought you weren't going to ask questions mom"  
  
"what did you do to your hair Lorelei"  
  
"okay mom, ill tell you, just promise you wont freak out." Emily again remained silent.  
  
"mom, I have cancer." She stopped and waited for a moment.  
  
"You have cancer" Emily repeated, disbelief and devastation filling her voice.  
  
"Ahh, yeah, sorry I didn't tell you mom it's just."  
  
She took Lorelei in her arms.  
  
"That's alright Lorelei. It's just that mothers aren't supposed to outlive their daughters." Emily said.  
  
"hey, mom who ever said I was going to die"  
  
"Lorelei, just please don't be angry with me for not being nicer to you over the years. I couldn't bear to have you be sick, and still have this hanging over you." Emily said, now with a few tears swelling in her eyes.  
  
"Hey, mom, don't get all nostalgic and sad on me now, okay, lets just go in there and see dad, and eat and have a good night. And hey guess what, Luke is going to get someone to make my hair into a wig for me, so ill have all of my hair back on my head in a few days, and ill be fine, im not dying any time soon."  
  
'alright Lorelei, we will forget about it for tonight, but I hope you don't expect your father and I to stand by and let you pay for all of the treatments and things by yourself, we will pay for chemo, and radiation and the pills."  
  
"look mom, I don't even want to think about that tonight, I want to eat and talk and have a good dinner."  
  
"okay Lorelei, im sorry ill let you enjoy your dinner" Emily replied, obviously fighting not to cry.  
  
The rest of the night went off with out too much talk about the cancer, which made Lorelei feel much better. Though she was very nervous as the next day Rory Luke and herself were going to the stars hollow hospital to start her chemo, and drop off her hair with John.  
  
AT LORELEI AND RORYS' HOUSE  
  
"Mom wake up, its time to go to the hospital, Luke's here to take us," Rory said in a whisper, awakening Lorelei from her restless sleep. Lorelei soon went downstairs to find Rory and Luke sitting at the kitchen table, Rory with a coffee and Luke with tea.  
  
"Good morning, how's my favorite two things in the world, coffee and Rory" Lorelei said with a mocking tone.  
  
"good morning to you to, and May I say you sound particularly annoying today" Luke said with a mock gentleman tone in his voice.  
  
"ahh, how sweet" Lorelei said taking a seat next to him at the table.  
  
"so are you guys ready to get going, I here the traffic is really bad on the highway this time of day." Lorelei asked.  
  
"uh yeah mom, lets go." Luke Lorelei and Rory all stood up and left the house.  
  
AT THE HOSPITAL  
  
when they arrived at the hospital Lorelei Luke and Rory all entered and walked up to the front desk.  
  
"umm, im here for chemo" Lorelei said  
  
"alright ma'am, just fill out these papers, and then go down that hallway and to the right"  
  
"umm, ill take care of these Lorelei, just go and do what you need to do" Luke said taking a pen and beginning to write on the papers.  
  
"thank you Luke" Lorelei said hugging him and taking Rory's arm leading her down the hallway.  
  
Luke watched them as they walked away then turned back to his writing.  
  
As Lorelei and Rory entered the small room a very stern looking man in a white lab coat greeted them.  
  
"Lorelei Gilmore?" he asked in an equally stern voice.  
  
"uh, yeah, that's me." She said, stumbling over her words.  
  
Just then Luke popped his head in the room.  
  
"umm, Lorelei, im going to take your hair to john's, Rory, do you want to come with me, give your mom some privacy?"  
  
"uh, mom, is it ok with you if I go with Luke?" Rory asked, I little unsure.  
  
"oh, yeah, go have fun, ill be here when you get back."  
  
"ok, thanks, I love you." She said giving Lorelei a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"you to honey, see you, thanks Luke."  
  
"no problem" he replied as he sized up the doctor still standing next to Lorelei.  
  
"if you need me, ill take your cell"  
  
"you hate cell phones Luke." Lorelei said with a strange tone in her voice.  
  
"yeah, well ive gotten used to them since Taylor Doose told me I had to become more technically friendly, or the "s.h.s.u.t.m" will come after me at the next town meeting."  
  
"the what?" she asked, her left eyebrow raising a little.  
  
"the stars hollow society for usage of technical machinery."  
  
"I swear he makes all of these society's up himself." She said.  
  
"umm, excuse me ma'am, sir, I need to get started." The doctor interrupted.  
  
Luke gave him a look of disgust then turn to Rory.  
  
"okay then I guess we should get going Rory"  
  
"yeah, ill see you later mom."  
  
"you to babe, love you' Lorelei said, putting on her best fake smile.  
  
"bye Lorelei" Luke said with a smile as they left.  
  
"well" Lorelei said looking at the doctor "lets get this show on the road" she said as she lay down on the table in the center of the room.  
  
an hour later Rory and Luke had returned and were in the waiting room. Lorelei was still in the room they had left her in. soon she emerged, her face was pale and she had to hold onto the walls to walk.  
  
"mom, are you okay?" Rory asked with obvious concern in her voice.  
  
"uh, yeah babe, im fine, im just a little tired."  
  
"well then I'll take you two home," Luke said as he walked over to Lorelei. He put one arm around her waist and put in under her elbow, and placed the other one on her waist, to help her walk; and they all exited the hospital.  
  
When the arrived at the Gilmore/Gilmore residence, Luke help Lorelei out of the car and carried her up to her bedroom were he lay her on the bed and put her covers over her.  
  
"thanks Luke, im glad you were there today" Lorelei said weakly.  
  
"anytime, do you want me to stick around?" Luke asked as he sat at her side and took her hand.  
  
"no, you have to go to the diner, Rory's here if I need her."  
  
"okay, see you Lorelei."  
  
"bye Luke." Lorelei said looking into his eyes.  
  
Luke got up to leave, but Lorelei grabbed his hand.  
  
"Luke, umm, thank you for being here, not only for me, but for Rory to, we really need you."  
  
Luke sat back down.  
  
"Lorelei, can I tell you a secret?" Luke asked. Lorelei smiled and nodded, she was getting to tired to speak.  
  
"when you and Rory moved here, I felt like I needed to protect you two, I still do, I feel like I have to be here, because Rory's father isn't. and I feel like I have to be a father to Rory, when Christopher isn't. so im going to be here whenever you need me. And im going to be here whenever Rory needs me, I love you girls, you're like my family." Luke paused for a moment and looked at Lorelei, her eyes had closed and she was sleeping soundly. He smiled and got up to leave.  
  
AT HOME  
  
"the next day Luke came over to Lorelei and Rory's house before opening the diner. Just as he was about to knock on the door Rory came rushing to the door and opened it.  
  
"Luke, hurry up get in here moms really sick, she's throwing up, she can't walk to the bathroom without falling over, and she has a really high temperature." Rory said in a rush with tears flowing down her cheeks.  
  
"Rory just go sit in the living room okay, im going to take care of this, just, don't come upstairs okay." Luke said looking into her eyes. All she could do was nod as she couldn't make herself talk.  
  
Luke ran upstairs to find Lorelei passed out in the hallway. He quickly scooped her up and brought her to the bathroom. He turned on the tap in the bathtub and began to fill it up. He ran the water in the sink and soaked a cloth with cold water and put it on her forehead. She slowly regained consciousness and quickly began to throw up again. Luke quickly positioned her over the toilet. When she finished Luke helped her undress and put her in the tub.  
  
Luke kept the cloth cold, and on her head, as he attempted to bring down her fever by keeping her cool in the tub. Lorelei was to sick to care that she was naked and Luke was there, and Luke didn't even notice, as all he cared about was helping Lorelei. An hour later Luke had wrapped Lorelei in a towel and was carrying her back to her bedroom. She lay her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.  
  
Half an hour later Lorelei woke up. Her head was pounding and spots blurred her vision. Through the spots she could make out Luke re-entering the room with a cold cloth. He put it on her forhead and her vision cleared a little.  
  
"Luke" she whispered in a hoarse voice.  
  
"hey there" he said in a whisper just loud enough for her to hear.  
  
"thank you" she said.  
  
"for what"  
  
"for being here when I needed you. Again" she said as she cracked a weak smile.  
  
"don't worry about it" Luke said with a small smile.  
  
"my head hurts" Lorelei said closing her eyes tightly.  
  
"uh, well ill go see what you have for medicine then" Luke said, slightly stumbling over his words.  
  
He quickly left the room and went down to ask Rory what they had to take care of headaches.  
  
THE INN The next day Lorelei was feeling well enough to go to the inn. When she arrived the worried faces of Sookie and Michel greeted her.  
  
"You weren't here yesterday, I was scared I thought you were." Sookie began  
  
"Im fine Suki" Lorelei interrupted. "I was just sick, so I stayed home."  
  
"Are you okay, is it worse are you going to die.." Sookie asked as she rambled on and on.  
  
"Sookie, we should get some work done, don't you think?"  
  
"Umm, Michel, there are a few people over at the front desk who look kind of angry, do you want to tell me something."  
  
"Oh ms. Gilmore, it is a disaster, they speak Dutch, I do not know Dutch except for the few words in the dictionary I have learned, and I think I mixed up a few words and I believe I have insulted them." Replied Michel.  
  
"Michel, we've already done this before, why do I keep you on language duty. Im hiring a translator first thing tomorrow morning."  
  
"yes ms. Gilmore, as for now, I must get back to the front desk." Michel said retreating.  
  
"so Lorelei, do you want to know the menu for today?" asked Suki with a wide grin spreading her face.  
  
"Sookie, you now I love knowing what's on your menus, but at the moment just the names of foods could make me double over, so I think I'm going to pass on the food talk."  
  
"oh, okay" Sookie said with obviously insulted.  
  
"I'll try tomorrow okay Hun?"  
  
"okay, no problem" Sookie said trying to sound perky.  
  
"oh god" Lorelei said grabbing her stomach.  
  
"what? What's wrong Lorelei" Sookie said gabbing her to steady her.  
  
"I. I don't know, I suddenly just feel really sick."  
  
"do you wan t me to take you home?"  
  
"uh, yeah, I don't think I should be here in the middle of a hotel lobby grabbing my stomach in pain, people might think it was something wrong with the hotel." She said trying to lighten the mood, she laughed slightly and grabbed her stomach again as Sookie led her to her car.  
  
AT HOME  
  
when Lorelei arrived home Luke who Sookie had called shortly before leaving greeted her at the door. As the car rolled in to the driveway Luke went out to meet them. He helped Lorelei into the house and laid her down on the living room sofa.  
  
"so, not ready to go back to work yet?" he asked.  
  
"apparently not, I doubled over in the lobby like I was just hit in the gut with a cannon ball, though I don't think it was as graceful as the cannon ball hit war people in the movies." Lorelei said trying to lighten the mood. Luke didn't laugh.  
  
"umm, that was a humorous comment sometimes called a joke Luke, it's usually followed by uncontrollable laughter." She said smiling.  
  
"oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Luke admitted, he took her hand in his.  
  
"um, John said the wig is finished, so if you want I can go and pick that up for you." He said as he rested his arms on his knees.  
  
"oh, yeah that would be great, thanks a lot for all of this." Lorelei said. Her face suddenly got very pale.  
  
"umm, you should go then, I'm just going to go. upstairs." Lorelei grabbed her stomach and ran up the stairs to the bathroom. Luke followed her up and helped her to the toilet as she threw up again.  
  
Once Lorelei had finished Luke brought her to her bedroom and laid her down with a cold cloth on her head.  
  
"I must not look overly attractive to you right now." Lorelei said with a weak smile.  
  
"you always look attractive." Luke said, his sentence trailed off as he noticed Lorelei was giving him a peculiar look.  
  
"umm, I'm going to go get that wig, okay?" he said, and he stumbled over words.  
  
"uh, yeah, I'll be right here when you get back, if Rory's not here just let yourself in." Lorelei said, still looking at him with a strange face.  
  
"okay then, I'm going to go, see you in about half an hour."  
  
"okay, bye"  
  
Luke quickly exited the room leaving Lorelei still wondering about what he meant when he said she was always attractive.  
  
About 10 minutes later Lorelei heard the door open and close. She wondered why Luke was back so soon, but when the person came up, it wasn't Luke.  
  
"hey there Lorelei." Said the man at the door.  
  
"Christopher, what are you doing here." Lorelei said, her voice cracking.  
  
"umm, well, your mom called me and told me you umm, uh, well yeah, she told me." He said, obviously searching for his words.  
  
"I see, so you just came back here and left Sherry all alone in Boston, how sweet." Lorelei said with a fake smile on her face.  
  
"look, Lorelei, I realize the last time I was here a lot happened, but I was thinking, I could stay and help you through this, and maybe stay. I love you Lorelei." Christopher said.  
  
"no, no, no, no, you can not be doing this to me, this is totally the wrong time for any of this, and I.I don't need you here I already have someone helping me through this who I know I can count on." She said trying to find the right words.  
  
"Lorelei, I know you and Rory are close, but she can't help you with everything you need help with." Christopher said.  
  
"I know she cant, and that's why I have someone else who is helping me too, who is going to be here in a few minutes, with my wig."  
  
Christopher looked at Lorelei surprised, he never thought she would have someone doing what he had come to do.  
  
"Well, maybe she and I can take turns, you know, I can be friends with her and when she can't be here I will be." Christopher attempted again.  
  
"well, I highly doubt that, because she is a he, and HE is very protective of Rory and I, and he already doesn't like you, because you moved across the country when Rory was born." Lorelei said, her voice getting weaker.  
  
"are you involved with him? Because if you are then Im sure I can catch a plane back to Boston." Christopher said, a little put out.  
  
"Christopher, I'm not involved with him, though its none of your business, but I'm not getting involved with you either, so if that's the only reason you are here, then you should go and catch the next plane back to Boston, because what you're here for isn't going to happen." Lorelei said, a little agitated.  
  
Just then the door opened and Luke came up to the room with a bag in his hand.  
  
"Luke?" began Christopher. "he's the guy you would prefer be here over me?"  
  
"Christopher, what are you doing here?" Luke asked  
  
"I came to take care of Lorelei" Christopher said, anger welling in his voice.  
  
"does Lorelei want you to take care of her?" Luke asked, with obvious doubt in his voice.  
  
Christopher turned to Lorelei, and so did Luke, awaiting an answer.  
  
"Lorelei, who do you want here." Christopher asked.  
  
"I told you Christopher, I want Luke here, not you, because I know the only reason you're here is because you want a relationship with me, and I don't want anything with you." Lorelei said, Christopher quickly turned around and left he room. As he was about to exit through the front door, Rory came in.  
  
"dad, what are you doing here" Rory asked as she ran up to give him a hug.  
  
"uh, well I came to see if your mom needed anything, but I guess Luke has that all covered so I'm just going to go back to Boston." He said returning the hug.  
  
"but, aren't you going to stay for a few days?" Rory asked as her voice filled with sadness.  
  
"uh, no, I'm just going to go and catch a plane back to Boston honey, I'll call you when I get there okay?"  
  
"that's not good enough." Rory said tears filling her eyes.  
  
"I know honey but that's all I can do, I'm sorry, bye." He said as he left the house. He entered his car and drove away. Rory sunk down in the corner and cried. Luke came down the stairs to find her.  
  
"Rory? Are you okay" he asked he sat down next to her.  
  
"I just saw my dad leave, and he didn't even stay for coffee or anything, he just left, like he didn't even care about me, like his life back in Boston was more important than me, its not fair." Rory said, wiping away her tears.  
  
Luke put his arm over her shoulders and she rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry about your dad Rory, he just came to see if your mom needed him to do anything for her." He said trying to make it seem a little better.  
  
"you don't understand Luke, mom and I have always been alone, and the few times dad comes to see us, he stayed for at least a few days, but this time its like he didn't even want to see me, he just wanted to get away from me." She said with her head still rested on Luke's shoulder.  
  
"I know it seems that way, but that's not what he meant to do I'm sure its not what he meant to do."  
  
"thanks Luke, your always there when mom and I need you, I mean, as much as my dad isn't a dad to me, you make up for that, its like you've been my father ever since I was born."  
  
"really?" Luke asked.  
  
"yeah, I think of you as my father, or at least a really, really fatherly uncle." She said with a smile.  
  
"well, thanks, I think" Luke said, trying to make her laugh. She let out a small giggle and got up.  
  
"umm, im going to go see mom, is she okay?"  
  
"umm, well she's sick, but she's better then she was."  
  
"okay, thanks again Luke."  
  
"no problem Rory."  
  
With that Rory ran up the stair to go talk to Lorelei.  
  
the next day Lorelei was very happy to have the whole problem with Christopher resolved. She also felt much better then she had the day before. When she woke up she squinted in the dark to see the time on her clock. The clock said it was 5:30 am. Lorelei attempted to sleep again but all she could do was toss and turn. She got up put on a pair of jeans a sweater and her wig.  
  
When she went downstairs and went into the kitchen for some coffee. When she got there she found Rory sitting at the kitchen table with a large mug filled with coffee.  
  
"hey babe, what are you doing up." Lorelei asked, startling Rory. Rory jumped and turned to her mother, her face streaked with tears.  
  
"what's wrong Rory?" asked Lorelei, instantly at her side.  
  
"oh, its nothing, sorry, I just, couldn't sleep." Rory replied, wiping away the tears.  
  
"you look good with your hair back" said Rory, trying to change the subject.  
  
"Rory, honey, why were you crying, what is it?"  
  
"it's just, umm, well, I was just thinking about.stuff." Rory said, trying to avoid the subject.  
  
"Rory, what were you thinking about?" Lorelei said pushing on.  
  
"I . I was thinking about what's going to happen to you, after it gets worse." Rory replied choking back tears.  
  
"don't think about that now honey, think about how it is now, right now, im fine, you're fine, nothing can be better then it is now." Lorelei said also trying not to cry.  
  
"your sick mom, you could die, how am I supposed to think about anything else." She said with tears flowing freely now.  
  
"I don't know babe, maybe you can't, and ill understand, but please don't dwell on that, remember, you have Harvard to look forward to." Lorelei said with a forced smile.  
  
"im not going away if you're sick." Rory said a little angry.  
  
" you have to go away to go to Harvard sweetie."  
  
"Mom, I mean im not going to Harvard if your still sick, ill go to some place here in Connecticut." Rory said with obvious determination.  
  
"no, you are not giving up Harvard because of this, I wont let you, Luke's going to be here when I need him, and that's enough, it doesn't matter right now any ways though, Harvard is 2 years away, ill be fine in 2 years." Lorelei said, giving herself a false sense of hope.  
  
"mom, I don't even want to talk about Harvard for about another year and a half, so im just going to go to bed, ill see you in the morning, I love you mom." Rory said. She leaned down and kissed her mom on the cheek and left the kitchen, and Lorelei with her thoughts.  
  
THE DINER  
  
a few hours later Rory had awakened again from her sleep and she and Lorelei were gone to Luke's diner for breakfast. When they arrived they were surprised to find the diner completely empty except for Luke.  
  
"hey guys" Lorelei said smiling.  
  
"hey" said Luke as he looked up from the counter at Lorelei and Rory.  
  
"why isn't anyone here Luke?" Rory asked  
  
"I don't know, just one of those days I guess, how are you feeling?" he asked, looking at Lorelei.  
  
"better than yesterday, that's for sure." Lorelei said with a weak smile.  
  
"dad called, he's back in Boston," Rory said with the tiniest hint of relief in her voice.  
  
"ahh, is that a good thing?" Luke asked as he walked to Rory's side.  
  
"well, I guess so, I mean, it's not a bad thing," Rory replied.  
  
"so what are you doing tonight?" Luke asked Rory.  
  
"I'm just going to stay home, moms going down to the hospital for chemo, so im going to stay by the phone and wait for her to call," Rory replied looking at Luke.  
  
"do you want me to take you down?" Luke asked as he looked at Lorelei.  
  
"oh, yeah that would be good, I was hoping you would." Lorelei responded.  
  
"okay then, I'll pick you up around four?" Luke asked.  
  
"yeah that would be great, but you know what would be even greater?" Lorelei said.  
  
"what's that?"  
  
"coffee."  
  
"I can see you defiantly feeling better." Luke said as he went back to the kitchen to make the coffee.  
  
Luke soon retuned with the coffee and brought it to Rory and Lorelei who were sitting on stools in front on the counter.  
  
"so." said Lorelei trying to think of what to say next. This was a rare occurrence as Lorelei was never short of things to say.  
  
"uhh, you look good with your hair back." Luke complemented.  
  
"oh, thanks, my head is a lot warmer now." Lorelei said smiling.  
  
"yeah, mines still cold though, the dinking is back." Rory said with a small laugh.  
  
"okay, would you please explain to me what the dinking is." Luke said with a laugh in his voice.  
  
"you think we should tell him?" Rory said as she jokingly looked at her mom.  
  
"I don't know, you think he could handle it." Lorelei said with a mocking tone in her voice.  
  
"I think he can, we've live her for 16 years, nothing we say or do could scare him now." Rory replied almost laughing.  
  
"oh I wouldn't be surprised, remember last time we were at a town meeting and I messed up tailors mind so bad he went from talking about gum wrappers on sidewalks to the large amount of fools gold in the lake, I have a knack for weirding out everyone, even people like Luke." Lorelei said as she still mocked.  
  
"oh yeah, you have a good point there, but this doesn't have anything to with gum wrappers or fools gold, just dinking." Rory explained.  
  
"yeah, you have a point, lets tell him." Lorelei conceded. 


	3. Tristan

That night after Lorelei had left with Luke, Rory began to feel lonely. She remembered the offer jess had made early, but she really didn't feel like talking to him right now at all. So she picked up the phone and dialed to number for her best friend lane Kim's house.  
  
"Kim residence." Answered the monotone voice on the other end.  
  
"uhh, hi, is Lane there." Rory asked.  
  
"Lane can not come to the phone, she is busy." Said the voice on the other end, which clearly belonged to Mrs. Kim.  
  
"oh, okay, thank you Mrs. Kim, bye." Rory said hanging up the phone. She quickly picked it up again though and dialed another number..  
  
"hello?" answered the male voice on the other end.  
  
"Tristan? Hi, its Rory."  
  
"oh, hi, what's up." Asked Tristan on the other end.  
  
"umm, well I was wondering if you wanted to come over, im kind of lonely, but I'll understand if you don't want to come and." Tristan cut her off.  
  
"I'll come over Rory, I'll be there in half an hour" Dean replied.  
  
"thanks Tristan."  
  
"bye" Tristan said as he hung up the phone, Rory did the same and waited patiently for Tristan to get there.  
  
Ten minutes later a knock came from the door, Rory got up and answered it to Tristan, she let him in and took his coat.  
  
"so, is there any special reason you wanted me to come?" Tristan asked her as he sat in the living room.  
  
"Well, I was thinking about what you said the other day, about me calling anytime, so I did, and I thought it was really nice and." Tristan cut her off again.  
  
"Rory, just say what you need to say," Tristan said.  
  
"I can't deal with any of this by myself Tristan, I need your help" Rory said with tears filling her eyes.  
  
"I'm here for you, whenever you need me, I want you to know that," Tristan said, instantly at her side.  
  
"I do, can you stay for a bit I just, I don't want to be alone right now," Rory said looking into his eyes.  
  
"so why didn't you call Dean?" Tristan asked.  
  
"I didn't want Dean, I wanted you, I love you." Rory admitted. Tristan leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. When he began to pull away she leaned into him and kissed him more. She let her hands go onto his neck as he put his hands on her back. Suddenly the doorbell rang.  
  
"bad timing." Rory said under her breath as she got up to answer it. Tristan walked to the door with her and when she opened it they were surprised to see Dean standing there. His eyes were filled with anger as he moved into the house.  
  
"Dean, what are you doing here?" Rory said as she looked at him with guilt.  
  
"I came to see you, what are you doing here." He said as he looked at Tristan.  
  
"look Dean, I know what your thinking." Tristan began.  
  
"you wouldn't want to know what im thinking." Dean said as he moved closer to Tristan. He shoved him backward.  
  
"Dean what the hell are you doing, stop it." Rory yelled and she ran up to him.  
  
"Rory get out of the way.' Dean yelled as he again charged at Tristan, this time knocking him over. As Tristan got up he tried to talked to Dean, but was once again knocked down but this time he hit his head on a table which knocked him out. His blood was all over the floor and table. Rory ran to his side.  
  
"what is wrong with you Dean?" Rory screamed as tears began streaming down her face.  
  
"I love him." She admitted with the same loud tone in her voice.  
  
"Rory." Rory started but she cut him off.  
  
"My mother is dying, and just because I wanted him here instead of you, doesn't give you any right to come in here and do this, look at him, he just lying there, he's unconscious because of you, god damn it Dean what the hell is your problem." Rory yelled, her tears flowing all over her face.  
  
"Rory please just listen to me, I'm sorry." Dean said trying to calm her down.  
  
"Bull shit, get out."  
  
"Rory."  
  
"GET OUT." She yelled as loud as she could. Dean finally gave up and left.  
  
"Tristan, I'm so sorry, please wake up." Rory said in a raspy voice as she kneeled next to him.  
  
"Rory," Tristan said as he opened his eyes.  
  
"Tristan," Rory said as she looked him in his eyes.  
  
"I love you too," Tristan said.  
  
"what?" Rory asked controlling her tears.  
  
"I love you too, you said you love me."  
  
"I do, but, do you remember, what just happened, I mean, does your head hurt, can you move?"  
  
"I'm fine, I think I just have a small cut." he said as he sat up. Rory shifted her position to look at where he had hit his head.  
  
"that's not a small cut, I'm going to go get a first aid kit." as she sat up she took Tristan's hand and helped him up. They walked into the kitchen and began cleaning his cut.  
  
"Rory?" Tristan asked.  
  
"yeah?" Rory said, still cleaning his head.  
  
"I do love you."  
  
"I love you too Tristan," She said. He took her hand and sat her in his lap.  
  
"I think I have the cleanest head in Stars Hollow by now." He said, as he motioned to the blood covered cloth in her hand.  
  
"I should put a bandage on that, it's still bleeding." Rory said as she began to get up. But he stopped her, and kissed her sweetly. She smiled and got up to finish covering the wound on his head.  
  
THE DINER  
  
The next day was a slow one in stars hollow. It was 8 in the morning and Rory and Lorelei were entering Luke's diner. There were only a few people there, scattered around 2 or 3 tables, talking quietly. Lorelei and Rory walked up to the counter while Luke was on the phone.  
  
"Hey Luke," Lorelai said.  
  
"Hey," Luke said gruffly. It was apparent he wasn't in a good mood.  
  
"What's wrong?" Rory asked.  
  
"Just a bad morning," Luke said.  
  
"umm Luke, you know what might make you a little bit more personable today?" Lorelei asked, with a mischievous gleam in her eye. Luke didn't answer he just shrugged.  
  
"a nice dinner." Lorelei said, almost bursting.  
  
"its 8 in the morning Lorelei." Luke said, a little confused.  
  
"not right now, tonight. Rory and I have the Friday night dinner thing with my parents, do you want to come with us?" Lorelei asked.  
  
"oh yeah, grandma and grandpa really want to see you again, grandpa says you didn't talk much at my birthday party, so he really doesn't know anything about you." Rory added.  
  
"if those dinners are anything like you mom described, im not going anywhere near Hartford on Friday nights." Luke said bluntly.  
  
"They aren't even half as bad as mom says, you should come, see for yourself." Rory said, trying very hard.  
  
" fine, I'll go." Luke said, conceding to their endless annoyance.  
  
"Yay" Lorelei said, she jumped a little I her chair.  
  
"do you girls want some coffee?" Luke asked.  
  
"do you have to ask?" Lorelei questioned.  
  
"good point, I'll be back." Luke said walking into the kitchen.  
  
"oh, none for me Luke, I'm late and if I stay I'll miss the bus." Rory said as she got up and grabbed her school bag.  
  
"okay, see you tonight Rory." Luke said from the kitchen.  
  
"bye Hun." Lorelei said as Rory ran out of the diner. While turned around Lorelei noticed everyone had left since they entered the diner. "weird." She said to herself. She had never been in the diner, completely alone before, except for the one time when she painted it for Luke.  
  
"here's your coffee." Luke said passing her a mug.  
  
"thanks, I'm running low today."  
  
"you know, that stuff is going to kill you."  
  
"every one is going to die Luke, not all of the same reasons, but why give up something you like just to postpone the inevitable."  
  
"good question."  
  
" I thought so."  
  
"so, do you think your parents will mind me going with you tonight?"  
  
"not at all, if anything it will be a chance for my dad to play his little 3rd degree game." Lorelei said with an evil giggle.  
  
"3rd degree game?" Luke asked, semi interested.  
  
"oh don't worry, you will see."  
  
"no seriously, what is it?"  
  
"ha, wouldn't you like to know."  
  
"either tell me or I'm not going."  
  
"okay fine, here is what tonight is going to be like." Lorelei said up and began talking in her Richard voice.  
  
"why hello there Mr. Danes, how are you tonight, why that's wonderful, oh me? Well I'm better than many not as good as some and annoyed with everyone, ha, ha, ha, well Mr. Danes, I hear you own a diner, how did you get into that business, oh well that's an interesting past, well then how much money do you make, can you support my daughter and grand daughter, did you go to university, where, what did you do in university."  
  
"he can't be that bad." Luke said, a little fearful.  
  
"okay, he can't be that bad, I'll take you word for it." Lorelei said, switching back to her Lorelei voice.  
  
"he's not that bad is he?"  
  
"ha." Lorelei said, she stood up and leaned over the counter closer to him.  
  
"Luke, lets just say, I will feel so, so sorry for you after tonight is over."  
  
"hey, what did you mean about supporting you and Rory?" Luke asked, also leaning on the counter.  
  
"did I say that?" Lorelei asked.  
  
"yeah, you did."  
  
"oh, well, maybe that will be one of his questions." Lorelei said, she moved a bit closer and suddenly their lips met. Luke put his hands on her back pulling her into him, and Lorelei put her hands on the back of his neck doing the same. Suddenly the door opened to and Rory walked back in. Lorelei quickly tore away from Luke and looked at him stunned.  
  
"I umm, forgot my coat." Rory asked as she stumbled over her words. Lorelei and Luke didn't lose eye contact.  
  
"ill see you tonight." Rory said. She ran out of the diner as fast as she could, she was just as stunned as Lorelei and Luke were.  
  
"what." Lorelei began.  
  
"i..i don't.." Luke stuttered.  
  
"no, uhh, me neither." neither Luke nor Lorelei were able to make complete sentences.  
  
"so." Lorelei said.  
  
"umm, I'll see you tonight." Luke said, he began to run back into the kitchen but Lorelei caught his arm.  
  
"I'll pick you up at 7." Lorelei said with a faint smile. She pulled him back into her and kissed him again. This time Luke put his hands on her back and let his hands move all over it. Lorelei put her hands back on his neck until they broke apart.  
  
"bye." She said with a wide grin.  
  
"see you." Luke said also smiling.  
  
RICHARD AND EMILYS'  
  
That night proved to be interesting for Luke and Lorelei. The unusual silence in the car was deafening. Lorelei and Luke still hadn't talked about what had happened that morning, and Rory was still shocked at what she had seen. Though since she and Lorelei had moved to stars hollow, she always thought that there was something there between those two. The half hour drive to Hartford seemed twice as long to the Gilmore's and Danes. After a long silent ride they finally arrived at the Emily Gilmore/ Richard Gilmore residence. After a moment outside the door Lorelei finally knocked and was promptly greeted by a new maid who they hadn't seen before.  
  
"hello." Said the maid.  
  
"uh, hi, were the grand daughter, daughter and. him." Lorelei said pointing at Luke.  
  
"oh, yes of course, come in please. Mrs. and Mr. Gilmore are in the common room."  
  
"the what?" asked Rory.  
  
"that means living room in Hartfordian." Lorelei said with a smile as she led the way in.  
  
they all took off their jackets and shoes and made their ways into the living room where they were greeted by Emily and Richard.  
  
"hey mom, dad" Lorelei said with a smile. Rory went over to Richard to give him a hug, and then did the same with Emily.  
  
"so, you must be Mr. Danes." Richard said, quickly sizing up Luke.  
  
"yeah, actually its just Luke." Luke said extending his arm for a handshake. After all of the acquaintances were made Lorelei Rory and Luke all sat down on a couch across from Emily, and Richard sat in a chair.  
  
"so, Luke how are you today?" asked Richard  
  
"im pretty good, how are you?" Luke said trying to be polite.  
  
"oh, better than many, not as good as some and annoyed with all." Richard said with a small laugh.  
  
"so Luke, what is it that you do for a living." Richard asked.  
  
"umm, well I own and run a diner in stars hollow." Luke said, he was beginning to get a little nervous, as this was turning out just as Lorelei had explained.  
  
"I see, and does that work well for you?" Richard continued.  
  
"ahh, yeah pretty well." Luke answered honestly.  
  
"so dad, how's the insurance biz?" asked Lorelei, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.  
  
"the insurance ~biz~?" half repeated and half questioned Richard.  
  
"ahh, yeah, your business, paying for peoples carelessness." Lorelei said.  
  
"it's just the way it always is Lorelei."  
  
"ahh, well that's a very descriptive answer dad." Lorelei said unenthusiastically.  
  
"umm, excuse me Mrs. Gilmore, but the dinner is ready." Said a maid who had just entered the room.  
  
"oh, thank you Marie, well lets go eat shall we?" Emily said brightly. All of the Gilmore's and Danes stood up and walked to the dining room to eat.  
  
"So, umm, grandpa, are you going to Martha's Vineyard this year?" Rory asked, disturbing the silence.  
  
"Of course Rory, were going at the end of the month." Richard replied with a smile.  
  
"yes, unlike last year ~ahem~ we decided to buy property, so we wont end up almost missing out on the vineyard." Emily said with a smirk.  
  
"well, im glad you wont have to do what you did last year and "suffer" from a dead mans bad taste mom." Lorelei said sarcastically.  
  
"oh, Lorelei that's the condo we bought, though this time we are going to spend the entire time remodeling, hopefully we will be able to enjoy the beauty of the vineyard." Emily said, completely unaware of Lorelei's sarcasm.  
  
"well, at least you have a plan." Lorelei stopped mid sentence clutching her stomach.  
  
" are you alright Lorelei." Emily said, immediately at her side.  
  
"ahh, yeah, I think I just need some fresh air." Lorelei quickly jumped up and ran out of the room.  
  
"I should go see if she's alright." Rory said as she began to get up.  
  
"ahh, no you stay here Rory, I'll go." Luke said as he stood up and ran after Lorelei. When he found her she was in the bathroom over the toilet.  
  
"hey" he said as he kneeled down next to her. He pulled her hair out of the way and helped her over the bowl.  
  
When she finished she looked up at him.  
  
"it was so sudden, I felt fine 10 minutes ago." Lorelei said; her face was pale.  
  
"well, we should get you home." Luke said with obvious concern.  
  
"uh, no, I should stay here with my parents for a while longer, I haven't talked to them about this much." Lorelei said as she slowly stood up, she tripped a little and Luke grabbed her arms to steady her.  
  
"are you sure?" Luke asked still holding her.  
  
"yeah, if worse comes to worst, I'll just spend the night in my old room, go home in the morning." Lorelei said, obviously she wasn't feeling like herself, because she never would have normally willingly spent the night there.  
  
"okay, are you ready to go back downstairs?" Luke asked.  
  
"oh, yeah, hey Luke, about this morning." Lorelei started.  
  
"ahh, that was.interesting." Luke said embarrassed.  
  
"well I wanted you to know, I've wanted, to do that. for a really long time." Lorelei admitted.  
  
"so did I," Luke said with a small laugh.  
  
"so, what are we going to do?"  
  
"talk to Rory." Luke said.  
  
"that would be a good start, well then, lets go downstairs." Lorelei said. Luke kept holding her, around the waist as they walked down the stairs to talk to Emily, Richard, and Rory.  
  
"are you alright Lorelei." Said Emily with obvious concern in her voice.  
  
"oh, yeah, but I think we all need to talk a little, about this, and another thing to." She added as she looked at Luke.  
  
"alright, then lets retire to the living room, and we will talk." Said Richard with a forced smile. It was obvious he still hadn't come to terms with Lorelei's condition, but he was trying his best to be supportive.  
  
Once they entered the living room they all sat where they had previously been seated and Emily turned to Lorelei.  
  
"so, what are we going to say."  
  
" well, I think we should discuss this whole cancer thing." Lorelei said bluntly.  
  
"of course, what is it that we need to know?" Richard said, trying not to show too much emotion.  
  
"well, I've been talking to my doctors and they said with surgery, they should be able to remove the cancer, and that would put me into remission."  
  
"why, that's wonderful." Emily said with a renewed sense of relief. "the problem is this survival rate of the surgery is 1 in every ten dies." Lorelei said. Suddenly the room became somber and quiet. Lorelei felt as though she had crashed the hopes of everyone in the room.  
  
"I see." Emily said unenthusiastically.  
  
"but I want the surgery, they said my case would probably be one of the 9 people that survived."  
  
"if you want the surgery, we will finance it." Richard said.  
  
"thanks dad."  
  
"anytime Lorelei."  
  
"ahh, mom, you said there were two things you wanted to talk to us about." Rory said with a smile.  
  
"ahh right, that." Lorelei said as she and Luke exchanged looks.  
  
"umm, I think that's something you and I need to talk about alone, its kind of personal."  
  
"then why would you say you needed to talk about it with us?" Emily said, regaining her normal personality.  
  
"I don't know mom, it was just on my mind I guess." Lorelei replied.  
  
"oh, don't worry about it Lorelei, well find out when you want us to, in the mean time, you three should get going, it late, and you have a long drive ahead of you." Emily said with a smile.  
  
"Grandmas right mom, we need to get going." Rory said, as she stood up.  
  
"Okay then, thank you for dinner, and ill talk to you guys later." Lorelei said quickly. After they all said goodbye Lorelei Rory and Luke all left the Gilmore residence and made their way back to stars hollow.  
  
THE HOUSE  
  
"So." Rory said as she entered the Lorelei Gilmore/ Lorelei Gilmore house.  
  
"Umm, yeah, Luke so..." Lorelei said as she glance at Luke who had followed them in.  
  
"Ahh, so." Luke said.  
  
"This is a very interesting conversation." Rory said with enthusiasm.  
  
"Yeah, kick ass." Lorelei agreed.  
  
"So what do we need to say?" Luke said, obviously avoiding the issue.  
  
" You guys could start by telling me why you two were making out in the diner." Rory said bluntly.  
  
"Oh, that, well, Luke and I didn't plan that, it just sort of happened." Lorelei said, avoiding eye contact with both Rory and Luke.  
  
"But it meant something." Luke added quickly.  
  
"I see. and what did it mean? Are you guys like a couple sort of thing now?" Rory asked.  
  
"Well, yeah, we are." Lorelei answered with a smile. A smile also crept onto Rory's face.  
  
"Are you okay with that?" Luke asked Rory.  
  
"Yeah this great, everyone in stars hollow has been waiting for this ever since mom first went into the diner." Rory said excitedly.  
  
"What? That's not true." Lorelei said defensively.  
  
"Yes it is, miss patty and babette started a pole all over town, people have been placing bets on how long it would take you 2 to get together for years." Rory said with a laugh. Luke and Lorelei's faces flushed.  
  
"If there's been a pole around for years I think we would have heard about it by now." Luke said, almost believing himself.  
  
"Please, this is Stars Hollow, if miss patty knows about it, the only people that find out are the ones she wants to find out. If its gossip everyone knows, but if its something she started on her own. lets just say it can stay very quiet." Lorelei and Luke both looked her, dumbfounded.  
  
"But the good news is I won." Rory said, she was getting a little nervous, I t wasn't very after she could keep both Lorelei and Luke quiet long enough to say that much.  
  
"Well, then. You should tell her about this tomorrow, so you can get whatever prize you won." Lorelei said unenthusiastically.  
  
"Are you mad?" Rory asked sincerely.  
  
"No were not mad, were just surprised." Luke said truthfully.  
  
"Oh, good, well then, ill go do homework and leave you guys alone." Rory said with a smile.  
  
"Thanks babe." Lorelei said with a smile.  
  
"No problem, I need to call dean anyways." Rory said as she headed down the hallway to her bedroom.  
  
Once Rory had closed her door both Lorelei and Luke went into the living room and sat down.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Luke asked Lorelei once they were seated.  
  
"Oh, much better now, thanks for helping me earlier."  
  
"No problem, there's nothing I enjoy more then catching you in your most unattractive moments, so I can hold it over your head." Lorelei laughed softly and then Luke leaned over and their lips met.  
  
"The town was right all of these years you know, I love you." Luke said softly once they had broken apart.  
  
"I know, you realize, every time I was with a man, you were in the back my brain? I mean I broke off my engagement with max because I loved you, I said no to Christopher when he asked me to marry him, because I love you. Every guy ive seen ever since I moved here didn't work out because I love you." Lorelei admitted.  
  
"it was the same with me and Rachel, and all of the other girls ive dated since I met you."  
  
"I love you Luke." Lorelei said as she looked into his eyes.  
  
"I love you Lorelei Gilmore." Luke said, he leaned in and kissed her again, and then they fell asleep on the couch together.  
  
Lorelei and Luke woke up the next morning to the sound of Rory's voice.  
  
"Hey, you guys, time to wake up." Rory said in a whisper.  
  
"What time is it?" asked Lorelei groggily.  
  
"9.00, I let you guys sleep in, I think the towns people need their caffeine Luke."  
  
"Oh shit, I mean crap, I mean. I'm late, ill see you guys later." Luke said as he stumbled over his words. He quickly ran out of the house and to the diner.  
  
Half an hour later Rory and Lorelai traipsed into the diner.  
  
"Hey Lukey," Lorelai said.  
  
"Don't call me Lukey," Luke said with distaste in his voice.  
  
"Sorry, can I have some coffee?" Lorelai asked.  
  
"Sure, umm, Lor, when is your operation?" Luke asked.  
  
"Saturday, why?" She asked.  
  
"I'm going to close the diner and come the hospital with you and Rory," Luke said.  
  
"Oh, Luke you don't have to," Lorelai began.  
  
" I want to, here's your coffee," He said handing her the cup. Lorelai smiled gratefully as Luke went back into the kitchen. 


	4. Endings

.  
THE HOSPITAL  
  
The week passed fairly quickly for Lorelei and soon Saturday arrived, and she was brought to the hospital for her surgery.  
  
"Rory and I will be right here when you get out of surgery, I love you Lorelei." Luke said. Lorelei Rory and Luke were all in a small hospital room, which Lorelei would be in for a few days.  
  
"Thanks Luke, I love you too, I love you Rory." Lorelei said. Two men then came into the room and took her off the OR.  
  
"I love you mom." Rory yelled down the hall as Lorelei was wheeled down the hall.  
  
"Is she going to be okay?" she asked as she turned to Luke.  
  
"of course she going to be okay, she's going to be just fine, you have nothing to worry about." Luke said as he tried to comfort Rory. She walked over to him and sat on his lap sideways. She began to cry.  
  
"Hey, don't cry Rory, nothings going to happen to her." Luke said in a soft voice, trying to hide the fact that he too was terrified about what could happen.  
  
"Are you scared Luke?" Rory asked through her tears.  
  
"well, I am scared, but I also know nothing is going to happen to your mom except good things, she's going to be fine, and her cancer is going to be gone, and everything will be back to normal." Luke said.  
  
"What if it doesn't work?' Rory asked, she stood up and began to pace around the room.  
  
"It will work Rory, she will be fine, and she's a fighter."  
  
"what if she isn't strong enough?" Rory asked, she stopped pacing and sat on the bed. Luke walked over and sat next to her.  
  
"she is strong enough." Luke said, determined to stick with his story.  
  
"but what if she dies, where will I go, I don't want to go with my father, I want to stay in stars hollow, with Tristan just half an hour away, and with you." Rory said.  
  
"She's not going to die, and you will stay here with Tristan me, and your mom, stop talking like she's not going to make it, she will, I promise."  
  
"Thank you for being there for me and my mom Luke, we couldn't have gotten this far without you." Rory admitted. She leaned over and hugged Luke and left he room.  
  
4 hours later Lorelei was out of surgery and was lying in the bed in her room. The doctors said they couldn't get all of the tumor, They didn't expect Lorelai to make it.  
  
Luke and Rory sat on either side on the bed each with one of Lorelei's hands in theirs. She still hadn't awakened..  
  
"Do you want me to get you some coffee?" Luke said. He sat up to give Rory a moment alone with her mother. Rory nodded and Luke left the room. While he was gone Lorelei woke up and looked at Rory.  
  
"Hey there missy." She said in a quiet hoarse voice.  
  
"Hey." Rory said, she leaned down and gave her mother a hug.  
  
"How did it go?" Lorelei said, still hoarse.  
  
"The doctors couldn't get the tumor out," Rory said. Tear fell down her face. Lorelei's heart sunk. She gave Rory another hug and a quick kiss.  
  
"I love you so much honey." She said to Rory.  
  
"I love you to mom, please don't leave me," Rory said. Luke had been sitting outside of the room listening to them. He couldn't help the tears that threatened to fall, after calming down he walked back into the room.  
  
"Hey," She said, he smiled sadly at Lorelei and handed Rory her coffee.  
  
"Ill give you guys a few minutes," Rory said she gave Lorelei another kiss and left he room.  
  
"How do you feel?" Luke asked Lorelei.  
  
"am I going to die Luke?" Lorelei asked.  
  
"The doctors, think you'll be fine," Luke lied.  
  
"I love you Luke, but you cant lie" Lorelei said.  
  
"I know" He smiled sadly and leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"when I'm gone, you fight for Rory, make sure you keep her," Lorelai said.  
  
"I promise," Luke said. Tears escaped from his eyes.  
  
"I don't want to live my life without you Lorelai." Luke admitted. Lorelei was getting weak.  
  
"It's getting dim Luke, get Rory, I want to be with both of you now," She said in a whisper. Luke ran to the door and found Rory Just outside. She came into the room and the two sat on either side of Lorelai for the last minutes of her life.  
  
5 minutes later the steady wale of the life support monitor told them that Lorelai was gone.  
  
Rory let out a small sob.  
  
"Mommy, no mommy wake up," She said. Then she realized it was too late. She let her head drop onto the bed beside Lorelai and cried. Luke could only watch as his own tears began to flood over his face.  
  
2 years later.  
  
"We are gathered here to celebrate the union of these two fine people, Tristan Dugrey, and Rory Gilmore. If anyone has a reason why these two should not wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," Said the minister. No one responded.  
  
The wedding ended half an hour later. It was time for the Father Daughter dance.  
  
"Thank you for being there for me dad," Rory said with a smile.  
  
"Anytime kiddo," Luke said as he held her tightly as the two swayed to the music.  
  
"I wish mom could be here," Rory said.  
  
"She is Rory, she's in your heart," Luke said.  
  
"I know, thank you Dad," Rory said. The song ended.  
  
"You should go dance with your husband now," Luke said with a smile. Rory smiled back and ran over to Tristan. The two began dancing to the song that the band was playing.  
  
Every night in my dreams I see you, I feel you,  
  
That is how I know you go on.  
  
Far across the distance and spaces between us  
  
You have come to show you go on.  
Near, far, wherever you are,  
  
I believe that the heart does go on.  
  
Once more, you open the door  
  
And you're here in my heart,  
  
And my heart will go on and on.  
  
Love can touch us one time and last for a lifetime,  
  
And never let go till we're gone.  
  
Love was when I loved you, one true time I hold to.  
  
In my life we'll always go on.  
Near, far, wherever you are,  
  
I believe that the heart does go on.  
(why does the heart go on)  
  
Once more, you open the door  
  
And you're here in my heart,  
  
And my heart will go on and on.  
  
You're here, there's nothing to fear,  
  
And I know that my heart will go on.  
  
We'll stay forever this way.  
  
You are safe in my heart,  
  
And my heart will go on and on.  
On and on....on and on~~~ 


End file.
